Accidental Adoption
by NeonDomino
Summary: Sirius really should have read through the forms he was signing. Now him and Remus are left to raise Nymphadora Tonks together, even though they aren't actually dating. Yet.


**Challenges/Competitions:**

**The WolfStar Ship Battle** - ABS - Accidental Adoption - Prompts: Summer, Frog, Chimpanzee, Pasta, Elephant.

**The Lottery Competition** - (1) Shopping, (3) Jumping, (23) Andromeda Tonks, (25) Charlie Weasley, (49) Bloody.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry** - Muggle Studies: **Abnegation** - write about an act of kindness.

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><p><strong>I own nothing.<strong>

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><p>Sirius and Remus turned up at the Lawyer's office and sat waiting in the reception.<p>

"Why are we even here?" Sirius asked.

"The letter said we were needed urgently," Remus replied. "So, here we are."

Sirius put his feet up on the coffee table, quickly removing them as the receptionist glared in his direction.

They sat in silence for a bit longer, before the receptionist cleared her throat, causing them both to look up at her.

"Mr Black and Mr Lupin, please go through," she said, gesturing to a door. Remus headed through, Sirius following behind, his gaze on Remus' behind.

"Who are you?" Sirius asked as they were lead into a room where a young girl was.

"Nymphadora Tonks," the girl replied, not looking up from where she was sitting, drawing pictures.

"Andromeda's girl?" Sirius asked and she nodded in response.

Remus took the seat next to her. "What is that?" He asked, pointing to the paper.

"It's an elephant," she replied softly.

"And that?" Remus asked.

"A Chimpanzee, a frog... I was hoping to go to the zoo one day to see them, but I haven't got anyone to take me." Remus could hear the tears in her voice. "But they said I have my cousin, Sirius Black."

"Of course, I'll definitely take her," Sirius said, turning to the Lawyer who looked relieved.

"That's great, Mr Black. Would you and Mr Lupin both sign here and she can go with you now."

Sirius grabbed the quill and with a flourish, his name was signed. A trip to the zoo would be a lot of fun after all, he had never been to the zoo before.

"Sirius, I'm not sure," Remus said, not certain what was actually happening. He was sure there was something more than what Sirius thought.

"Just sign the damn parchment, Moony, and we'll get out of here," Sirius replied.

Remus sighed and walked over, signing his name and handing the quill back.

"Wonderful, we'll have a house-elf send over her stuff to your flat," The Lawyer said, pushing a copy of the document into their hands and ushering them from the room.

Sirius looked at Remus in confusion. "What just happened?"

Remus glanced at the hopeful look on the girl's face. "I think we should go get some lunch and look over those documents," Remus replied.

**...oOo...**

They stopped in McDonalds and ordered some food, chosing to take it to the park due to the hot summer weather. Once Sirius' young cousin was eating, Remus and Sirius poured over the documents.

"You did say you'd take her, I think the Lawyer took that to mean you'll have her indefinitely."

"But what about Andromeda?"

"Missing for weeks now, along with Ted," Remus murmured. "She has nowhere else to go, it's either us or the Malfoys."

"No, we can't send her there. She can stay with us, right?"

Remus nodded. "I just... why did I have to sign the forms too?"

"Because mum said that you and Sirius were boyfriends and if anything ever happened to her, you'd both look after me together."

The pair looked at her.

"Boyfriends?" Sirius asked, in shock.

"Dora, was your mum kidding around when she said that?" Remus asked.

Dora shook her head. "No. She said that you keep it very secret, but she knows you've been together since school. She said back in school she would see you cuddling all the time."

"I'll have you know cuddling is innocent," Sirius began. "But you're not allowed to cuddle boys when you go to Hogwarts."

"Why not? Because it means I love them, like you love Remus," Dora teased.

"I don't love him like that," Sirius said.

"Sirius is just a friend," Remus said, loudly. "Only my friend, nothing more."

"Wow, protest a bit more, Remus. Not hurting my feelings here."

"Why would it hurt your feelings?" Remus said, confused.

"Because it's one thing to say we're not dating... it's another to get so offended at the thought of going out with me."

Remus shook his head. "You're a good-looking bloke, Padfoot. A guy would be lucky to be with you, I just didn't want Dora to get the wrong idea."

"Thanks Moony, you're good-looking too. A guy would be lucky to hit that." His gaze fell towards Remus' behind.

"Uh, thanks," Remus said, blushing slightly.

"Just friends," Dora snorted in amusement.

**...oOo...**

"Mate, me and Remus just adopted -"

"Together, I knew it," James shouted, jumping up from his seat and rushing to throw his arms around his two friends. "Didn't I tell you Lily, it was only a matter of time."

"You did," Lily replied. "But that was only after I pointed out to you. You thought them sharing a bed was normal." She let out a laugh.

"How many times were we going to catch them spooning before they admitted it?" Peter added.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other in shock. What was going on?

"Me and Sirius have adopted Andromeda's daughter, Nymphadora. We weren't told what we were signing at the time, so weren't aware that it was final adoption papers."

"The bloody Lawyer tricked us," Sirius added.

"So you didn't go out and have adopted babies together?" James asked, his smile dropping.

The two men shook their heads and an awkward silence followed.

"Congratulations," Lily offered. "I'm sure Dora needs her family now more than ever, and she's got both of you, you make a great coup... team."

"Which one of you is the mum?" Peter asked, with a grin.

They glared at Peter who looked more amused by the situation than he should be, and Dora came over from the small dining table, holding Harry's hand. The small boy was staring up at her in adoration because she had allowed him to colour in with her. He was quite taken by her rainbow hair too.

"I think Remus is the mum, since he's the most sensible. Sirius makes stupid jokes like my dad did, so he'll be the dad..." Dora paused in thought. "Although Sirius looks the most like my mum, so would that make him the mum? No, I think Remus can be the mum."

Sirius jumped up. "I'm going to get started on dinner. Chicken pasta anyone?"

"Yup, Sirius is the dad. My dad always done the cooking," Dora said.

"How old are you?" Lily asked her.

"I'm eleven," she replied.

"I expect you'll be going to Hogwarts soon," James said.

"I will, I want to be a Hufflepuff like my dad," she responded.

There was a big silence.

"Better than being a snake," Sirius told her. "I bet yellow suits you."

Dora smiled as she screwed up her face, turning her hair blonde.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked.

"Looks good," Sirius agreed, mussing her hair up and she swatted his hand away.

**...oOo...**

The group finished eating and they stood looking between the two bedrooms.

"Nymphadora needs her own room," Lily said. "Her stuff is taking up all the sitting room."

"You can call me Tonks," she replied. "I don't like my name."

"So whats happening?"

Sirius glanced at Remus, who was deep in thought, and pretended not to check him out. "Why don't we move all our stuff into one room for now, and work it out tomorrow?"

Remus slowly nodded. "We'll move into Sirius' room, it's bigger," he said. "Dora can have mine... plus, it'll take less time to pack mine up."

The group made quick work of moving Remus' stuff into Sirius' room, and Dora directed where her stuff would go in the new room, and after a couple of hours, she smiled up at them.

"Thanks," she said. "Can I stay up late?"

"What time did your parents send you to bed?" Sirius asked.

"Eleven," Dora replied, hopefully.

"Nope, you can stay up till nine," Remus replied. "Can't believe you fell for that, Padfoot."

**...oOo...**

Remus pulled the covers over him on the sofa, and closed his eyes. A heavy weight settled on his legs, and he let out a grunt of pain.

"Moony, why are we being so awkward? We've shared a bed so many times, but tonight we're letting their comments get to us. I have no problem sharing a bed with you, come join me."

"Get off my legs," Remus grumbled, looking up at the dark-haired wizard. Was Sirius really going to sleep topless? Remus didn't think any further than that, he got up from the bed, a shiver running through him as the invitation to share Sirius' bed echoed through his head. He couldn't say no to Sirius. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he loved being wrapped in Sirius' arms at night.

Remus grabbed his bedcovers and the pair glanced in at Dora, hoping she was all right. According to the documents, she had been staying with a family friend and her parents hadn't returned to collect her. Finally the friend contacted the Ministry, who couldn't find a trace of her parents. She had been with the friend for a month.

The Order suspected that the Tonks family had been taken by Death Eaters, Bellatrix in particular had a vendetta against her sister marrying a muggle, but no news was good news. Bellatrix would make an example of her sister if she killed her, so not finding a body meant that Andromeda was still alive somewhere.

Remus took his own tshirt off and slipped into the bed, Sirius following seconds later.

"G'night Moony," Sirius said, wrapping an arm around Remus' waist. He wasn't quite sure what to do because Remus always wore a tshirt, and now he had a shirtless Remus in his bed. It was more than he could have hoped for.

"Night, Padfoot," he replied, wondering if this was normal. Peter said it wasn't, but they had always slept like this. Always cuddled up to get over nightmares. Remus' nightmares of Greyback and Sirius' nightmares of his family, and later of the suffering at their hands.

Remus never said anything because it felt right being wrapped up in Sirius' arms. There was no time to have an unrequited crush anyhow.

After a few minutes Sirius pulled his closer and they both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

**...oOo...**

The month passed quickly, the pair taking care of Dora. They were her legal guardians now and they tried to make sure she had everything she needed.

They had money paid into a joint account each week directly from the Tonks' own account, to cover the loss of earnings as one of them (Moony) would have to stay home and for anything Dora needed. It had been set up in the Tonks' will and with them missing, there had been no choice but to go ahead with the arrangement until the right amount of time had passed to class them dead, or bodies were found. At which time, the will would be read.

Sirius got used to turning up at home to find Remus and Dora waiting for him, dinner cooking on the oven and Dora running up to him and giving him a hug. He was glad the girl had taken to him so quickly.

He also enjoyed the smile Remus sent his way when he walked in.

During the full moon, Dora packed her stuff, excited for her sleepover at Aunt Lily's house. Lily had told her that they'd make cakes, paint their nails and watch girly movies, and she ended up staying an extra night, having enjoyed herself too much to return home straight away.

**...oOo...**

Dora's letter arrived a month before she was to attend Hogwarts. Remus had seen it at the window and sent her to get it herself, knowing that she'd be excited to collect it straight from the own.

She was, and it took her and Sirius ages to calm the girl down.

That afternoon, Remus and Sirius took her shopping in Diagon Alley, and she bought everything on the list. After some whispering as Dora excitedly tried out wand after wand, they decided to buy her a gift.

She chose a small owl, naming it Chunky.

A few weeks later, the pair stood on the platform as she hugged them goodbye. There had been no news on her parents disappearance, and they doubted to find them alive. At least Dora had them, Sirius and Remus would take care of her.

Sirius, Remus, James, Lily and Harry all waved at the girl as she walked towards the carriage, tripping and falling into a redheaded boy, who tried to steady her.

"I hope she remembers the no cuddling rule," Sirius mumbled as they watched Dora slip her arm through the other boys and get on the train with him.

"That's Charlie Weasley, I think," James said.

"Gideon and Fabian's nephew?" Sirius asked and James nodded.

"They were good blokes," James said as they watched the train, waiting for it to depart.

"Why are you acting like she's about to run off and marry him?" Lily said, shaking her head in despair. "She's eleven."

"But it'd be good for her. The Weasley's are nice so at least if she makes friends with him, we know she's taken care off if she wants to spend the day at the Weasley's house," Remus added.

**...oOo...**

The pair arrived home after spending the rest of the day with James, Lily and Harry and they looked at Dora's room.

"We could shrink her stuff and store it for now, and put it back for the holidays?" Remus suggested, not certain what to do.

"Or we could just carry on with how things were going?" Sirius suggested shyly.

"Yeah, that could work too," Remus whispered, blushing. Sirius was basically agreeing to them sharing a bed indefinitely. Since Dora had arrived in their lives, neither man had dated, preferring to spend the time with their little family and James, Lily, Harry and Peter. Remus liked it that way. He liked feeling like they were a family. Maybe one day the Tonks' would show up safe and well, who knew... but for now it was him and Sirius raising an eleven year old girl.

Together.

And it was amazing.

"So, I might have an early night," Remus said, hoping the time alone would get him back on track with keeping his feelings to himself. He couldn't let slip to Sirius how he felt - that he wanted to keep going how they were. He was worried that without Dora there, Sirius would start dating again and they'd go back to normal, though if Sirius wanted to keep sharing a bed, he couldn't really date other guys and bring them home with Remus in the bed.

Unless he went to their place.

No, Remus wasn't going to think about that if he could help it.

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing," Sirius said, following him into the bedroom.

They both turned their backs, allowing the other a chance to get ready for bed, trying not to sneak glances at each other.

"I... I'm actually going to miss the kid, it was nice having one, you know," Sirius offered. His train of thought had been very similar to Remus'.

"I know," Remus replied. "But Dora will come back over holidays, so she won't be gone for good."

"Yeah, I guess," Sirius replied, as they both slid under the covers.

"Maybe we could do this again? Find another child that needs us and take them in?" Sirius offered.

"Together?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, well I wouldn't do it alone," Sirius replied, his arm slipping around Remus as it had done every night. He snuggled into the back of him.

"We'd need a bigger place," Remus said.

"If we get a girl, she could share with Dora," Sirius said.

"And we'd keep sharing a room?" Remus asked.

"Unless you don't like that idea," Sirius asked.

"No, I like that idea, I mean I don't mind sharing if you don't. It's nice to have someone to cuddle, not that -"

"It's cool Moony, I know you fantasize about me," Sirius said, amusement in his tone.

"What? How did you know?" Remus blurted out.

"I'm right? I was just kidding? You... you fantasize about me?" Sirius asked, his eyes widening and Remus quickly turned around to face him.

"No, I didn't mean -"

"It's okay, I fantasize about you too," Sirius murmured, and before Remus even knew what was happening, lips were on his. His arms automatically moved up and around Sirius' neck and without realising what he was doing, he was dragging Sirius' clothes off his body, allowing Sirius to do the same to him.

"I think everyone was right about us," Remus said, between kisses.

"That we're perfect together?"

"Yeah," Remus replied.

"Well, if you want the truth, I've fancied you for ages, and I just wanted to -"

"Enough talking," Remus murmured. "Just shut up and kiss me."

"I'll do more than kiss you, Remus," Sirius replied.

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